View full sizeOfficials with the Baldwin County school board, Faulkner State and Enterprise State community colleges and the Fairhope Airport Authority celebrate the groundbreaking of the aviation training facility in Fairhope on Sept. 27. (Courtesy of Terry Wilhite/Baldwin County school system)

FAIRHOPE, Alabama – It’s official: the $2.5 million aviation training facility at the H.L. “Sonny” Callahan Airport has become a reality after a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning.

Officials with the Baldwin County school board, Faulkner State and Enterprise State community colleges and the Fairhope Airport Authority were on hand for the historic moment, along with State Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose.

The 15,000-sq.-ft. facility will be used for teaching aviation technical skills, industrial maintenance and welding to students in classes that will be established by the Baldwin County Board of Education.

The facility, which will open next fall, will include three 5,000-square-foot classes on the west side of the airport on Baldwin County 32.

High school students will be able to take dual enrollment courses, in which they can earn college credit, said Chuck Zunk, chairman of the Fairhope Airport Authority. Older students and community college students will also attend classes there.

The facility will provide a huge economic boost, Zunk said. “We think it will bring jobs to the community; we’re very confident that once we have the school there and turning out qualified people that it will bring more of an employee base into the area and will be just a great economic opportunity for everybody,” he said.

Zunk said the training facility isn't just for Fairhope residents, but should be seen as an opportunity for all students in surrounding parts of Baldwin County.

Officials with Enterprise State and with Faulkner State are working with vendors to encourage donations of equipment for the school, and have also applied for state and federal grants, he said.